The present invention relates to a sensing device for capturing information applied freehand and particularly, but not exclusively, to a sensing device which can capture drawing or writing information applied freehand by a user to a surface.
The invention has been developed primarily to allow a large number of distributed users to interact with networked information and applications via printed matter and hand-held optical sensors, thereby to obtain interactive printed matter on demand via high-speed networked color printers. Although the invention will largely be described herein with reference to this use, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to use in this field.
Various methods, systems and apparatus relating to the present invention are disclosed in the following co-pending applications filed by the applicant or assignee of the present invention on May 23, 2000:
The disclosures of these co-pending applications are incorporated herein by reference.
Presently, a user of a computer system typically interacts with the system using a monitor for displaying information and a keyboard and/or mouse for inputting information. Whilst such an interface is powerful, it is relatively bulky and non-portable. Information printed on paper can be easier to read and more portable than information displayed on a computer monitor. However, unlike a keyboard or mouse, a pen on paper generally lacks the ability to interact with computer software.
It is an object of the present invention to combine advantages of pen on paper and computer systems.
The present invention relates to a sensing device for sensing region identity data and generating movement data when the sensing device is moved relative to a region of a surface, the region identity data being indicative of an identity of the region, the movement data being indicative of the movement of the sensing device relative to the region, the surface having disposed upon it coded data indicative of at least one region associated with the surface, the sensing device including:
region identity sensing means configured to sense the region identity data using at least some of the coded data;
motion sensing means configured to generate the movement data; and
communications means configured to communicate the region identity data and the movement data to a computer system.
Preferably, the motion sensing means is configured to generate the movement data using at least some of the coded data.
More preferably, the coded data is also indicative of a plurality of reference points of the region, the motion sensing means being configured to generate the movement data on the basis of the sensing device""s movement relative to at least one of the reference points.
In an alternative embodiment, the coded data includes periodic elements, the motion sensing means being configured to generate the movement data on the basis of the sensing device""s movement relative to at least one of the periodic elements.
In a further embodiment, the movement sensing means includes at least one acceleration sensing means, the acceleration sensing means being configured to sense acceleration of the sensing device as it is moved relative to the surface region, the movement sensing means being configured to generate the movement data by periodically sampling the acceleration.
Features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments thereof, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.